


All Is Fair In Love and War

by sacredsymbol821



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Custom MU, Custom Robin, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 15:26:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12584884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sacredsymbol821/pseuds/sacredsymbol821
Summary: The Campaign to end King Gangrel's reign is nearing an end, but unresolved tensions between David and Cordelia still linger between the two.





	All Is Fair In Love and War

The day was clear and bright, and there were a few white clouds in the sky in the forest. Cordelia was happy to be out here with Sumia for a brief respite from the bustling camp, but at the same time, she was preoccupied. She barely registered a flock of birds going over them overhead, instead staring into the lake they were sitting next too.

Another bird flew by, and she still wasn’t paying any attention to what was going on around her.

“It’s a love bird, Cordelia!” Sumia said, breaking the other woman out of her thoughts. They had come out here with their pegasi for a respite from the war going on around them, and Cordelia couldn’t even concentrate on how nice the weather was today. Her mind wasn’t concentrating on work, like it usually did, but it was concentrating on something else entirely- something she hadn’t thought about in awhile- and that was the subject of her love life, which she only brought up to Sumia.

She had stopped dreaming about Chrom months ago, truth be told, but she didn’t treat him any differently. If the camp found out about the man she did have feeling for, they’d have a field day and call him vile things behind his back, as well as hers, and he didn’t deserve that one bit. 

“Cordelia! You’re not even listening to me, are you?” Sumia asked, and Cordelia found herself staring at her best friend, who was looking at her expectantly.

“Are you thinking about work again?” Sumia’s eyes narrowed, and Cordelia laughed.

“I wish I was, then the answer would be much simpler.” She told Sumia, who frowned.

“Is it about Chrom?” Sumia asked.

At one time, that would have made her snap at the other woman as her heart clenched painfully. However, she felt nothing when she said that. Instead, she stared at her friend for a moment, weighing her options.

“No, it’s not Chrom.” She answered finally.

“But then, what’s bothering you?” 

She had to tell her. Sumia was never a blabbermouth, and she needed to tell someone.

“Sumia, I think I’m in love.” She began, before Sumia fell on her face suddenly in surprise.

Cordelia quickly picked her back up, and then was assaulted with questions by the other Pegasus knight. 

“Who is it? Is he nice? How old is he? Do I know him?”

“Sumia, yes, you do know him. It’s David.” She finished, and Sumia screamed.

“When did this happen? She asked, and she was so loud that Cordelia instinctively winced, and looked around before turning her attention back to the other girl.

“Does he know?” 

“Not that I know of?” 

“Is that why you’ve been avoiding him lately?” Sumia realized.

“Yes.”

“Do you plan on telling him?” Sumia asked quietly. That was the question that made her heart clench.

Like most of camp, he knew about her former crush on Chrom. Unlike most of camp, however, he had never made jokes about it behind her back, and she had told him about it upfront awhile ago. He’d thanked her for telling him, and to rescind it now- in the middle of a war- would leave him distracted or angry, and the army needed him at 100 percent.

“Maybe after the war.” She said thoughtfully, though she felt a stab of pain go through her heart when she said it. 

“After the war? That’s what you said with Chrom!” Sumia reminded her.

“Except I’m serious about it this time.” She told her.

“Cordelia, if you keep running from your feelings like this it’s going to bite you in the back worse than it already has, and David has a right to know.”

“He does, but not right now. Winning this war is to important to all of us.”

Sumia frowned at her again, but didn’t continue on the subject anymore, instead returning to the flower she was picking.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

David lowered his sword and stared at the dummy, his breath coming in labored pants before he threw the sword across the battlefield, and watched it slide across the battlefield before he went to go pick it up.

The sparring hadn’t gone terribly, but he was on edge, and he knew exactly why, though there was no way he would it admit it to anyone in his friend group. It seemed like every time he closed his eyes, he saw Cordelia’s face. No matter, what he did her smile pervaded his every waking moment, and he hated it.

He was thankful she was avoiding him lately, but also suffering because of her absence. He punched a defenseless dummy angrily.

He had promised himself he wouldn’t fall for anyone in the army, and when Cordelia had told him about her crush on Chrom, he’d promised himself he wouldn’t be anything but her friend. His best friend, Chrom, didn’t deserve this, but neither did Cordelia.

Whenever he saw Chrom in camp, he was overcome with either jealousy over his budding relationship with Maribelle, or jealous of the crush Cordelia had on him. On rare, bad occasions, both emotions would hit him at once, and he hated that even worse.

He sat on the nearest stump and pulled his shirt over his head before throwing it carelessly on the ground. After that, he took a big drought of his water, before hearing movement in the trees, and whirling around to see who it was.

He nearly screamed when he saw Chrom and Maribelle walk towards him arm in arm, and quickly grabbed his shirt and threw it back on before standing at rapt attention with a perfect salute.

“Oh! Hi David, didn’t see you there.” Chrom told him and he immediately knew that his friend was lying- he had told him he’d been at the training area for awhile before they marched. He narrowed his eyes at him quizzically, and Chrom opened his mouth to talk when Maribelle interrupted.

“David, it’s come to our attention that you’ve been acting oddly lately.” His heart dropped to his stomach, and a frozen cold spread over his gut as his throat closed up.

“What… do you mean?” He asked, subconsciously taking a step backward.

Chrom put his free hand on his head.

“You’ve been...not yourself lately. Uh, distracted.” Chrom began. He shifted to his other foot . He wasn’t having any fun with this either.

“We are in the middle of a war.” He said nearly automatically, giving a small smile to him, and looked back towards the stump where his sword was, hoping that someone could get him away from the Exalt to be and his future wife.

No one heard him, and the pathway up to the battlefield stayed quiet with no movement. 

He resigned himself to his fate, and sat down on the stump. 

“We are, but you’ve been keeping to yourself lately. We’re worried about you.” Chrom told him.

“I’ll be fine, I just have a lot going on at the moment. Also, I’m trying to give you two space. Thank you for worrying about me, but I’m just fine.” He answered, and before either of them could say anything to him, he grabbed the sword and sheath and walked off the battlefield.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Gangrel was just ahead, and David was getting ready for the battle of his life. The armies life, too. He kept his eyes straight ahead as he heard the flapping of wings above him.

“David!” Sumia greeted him, and he grinned at the sight of her.

“Sumia, it’s been awhile, what’s up?” He asked, as she wrapped him in a tight hug.

Since they were the only two pegasus knights in camp, they were spread really thin, ferrying this message or item across camp all day. However, he always saw Sumia at dinner, whereas Cordelia was nowhere to be found. Until now, that they had to plan for battle with him.

After Sumia released him, he went out to shake Cordelia’s hand before pulling back just as quickly. He still wasn’t sure why she had stopped talking to him.

“Hi, Cordelia. It’s nice to see you again.” He said.

Sumia whirled around to Cordelia as if she was about to say something, but decided against it.

“Hello David.” Cordelia returned crisply.

“You haven’t been in the mess hall lately. Are you doing okay?” He asked her quietly.

She stared at him for a very long moment before simply nodding slowly. 

He didn’t notice Sumia swing her head toward Cordelia very quickly and he pretended not to notice Cordelia shake her head at the other pegasus knight, as he was interrupted by Cordelia’s pegasus practically slamming into his open hand for affection.

“Whoa! Easy there, boy! I missed you too!” He said as he pet the pegasus softly. He whinnied delightedly, before trotting back to Cordelia, who looked pale as a sheet.

“I’m not sure why he did that… I’m sorry.” She told him.

“It’s fine, he probably just missed me, is all.” He mused.

“That was odd, he’s always so well behaved…” Sumia also admitted, but they continued walking to the strategy tent without any further incident.

David watched them go a little longer than he should have, wondering if he should have said anything different to Cordelia to get her to open up to him again, even though they were past the awkwardness a long time ago.

He bit his lip, shook his head at himself, and walked in the opposite direction of where they were headed. He still needed to prepare for his role in the battle, and his armor wasn’t fully on.

>>>>>>>>>>>

She grabbed her assignment quickly and without complaint, as she always did, but didn’t read it until she was sitting down next to Sumia in the stables, and her heart froze, as did her body.

“Sumia. They put me with him.” She whispered, and showed Sumia the note.

“This can be a good thing though!” Sumia told her, and Cordelia laughed for a minute, weakly.

“I don’t see how any outcome could be good since I’m sure he hates me.”

This time, Sumia stared at her like she’d grown three heads.

“He’s never hated you. I don’t think he would have asked if you were doing okay if he hated you.” Sumia answered her quietly, and Cordelia felt her heart flip painfully.

Sumia turned back to her horse then, and Cordelia was left with her thoughts, and the scroll of paper that seemed to be burning a hole into her lap sat there as she stared at it.

He reported to the stable a few minutes later, and he stood at the entrance awkwardly for a bit. His armor was never flashy, but the Ylissean Green Armband was a telltale sign he was one of theirs. He rarely wore long sleeves under his armor, but today he had. He didn’t seem to be in bad spirits, which was good, but he was definitely more nervous than usual- he never seemed to let go of his armor, always fixing one bit of it or the other, and always checking to make sure his sword was still there, when he hadn’t even unsheathed it yet.

Admittedly, she, too was also skittish. He was barely in the room, and yet her heartbeat was going so fast, she could hear it in her ears and was surprised that Sumia couldn’t hear it next to her.

She was so close to talking to him- to apologizing for not talking to him for over a week, but Sumia was in the room, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to have this conversation in front of her. A small part of her wondered if he even had any feelings toward her at all, but she quickly smashed that thought of her brain with a shake of her head. 

He put his head against the pillar, sat there for a few minutes, and sighed before taking two steps toward her, hesitating, and then completing his walk to her. He stood there for a few minutes, staring at the wall and taking a deep breath, before he turned toward her and began to speak.

“Listen, I know you two have been busy being the only pegasus knights here, but I’ve seen Sumia in the mess hall. I just want to make sure you’re eating properly, is all. A soldier shouldn’t be overworking themselves without the proper nutrition and..” He trailed off, putting his hand on his head while looking at the ground for a second.

That made her stomach do another painful flip, and she winced a split second before he looked back at her to continue his sentence.

“...I worry, is all.” He finished lamely, wincing as he finished.

“Thank you for your concern, and I have been eating well, thank you.” She answered cordially. He made to leave before looking back at her, and stepping back into her vicinity.

“Are we still friends?” He asked her quietly, his face not betraying any emotion, looking at her straight in her eyes.

He was so close to her, she couldn’t think. It was probably better for his reputation for him to think of them as friends, but it still hurt her for him to say out loud.

“David, I… I don’t think that’s possible.” She said honestly, and he frowned.

“I don’t know what changed your mind, but I’ll respect your decision.” He said stiffly, and it was then she realized she had made a mistake in her words.

“David, wait, I didn’t mean it like that.” She reached out to grab his arm, and accidentally slipped off the stool she was sitting on. He caught her around the waist area and held her upright.

“Are you alright?” He asked her, and her mind barely registered what he was saying because she became entranced with how close he was. Absentmindedly, she pushed her hair back into her hairclip, before looking him back in eyes, trying to avoid the blush coming onto her cheeks. 

“Cordy, you… you never answered the question.” He stuttered quietly, his lips mere inches from hers.

All she had to do was move a few inches, and she could kiss him, and her heart really wanted her too. Her brain was screaming at her not too, but was losing willpower.

“I’m...okay. Thank you for catching me.” She answered automatically. 

She decided she was going to kiss him, and was just about to lean in when the horn sounded for everyone to mobilize, and they jumped apart at the sound, and David nearly ran out the stable before realizing that his assignment was in the stable.

Sumia was needed elsewhere.

“Bye, Cordelia! Good luck!” She chirped, and when David turned his head, whispered in her ear, 

“I thought you weren’t going to tell him?” Before leaving the stable with a smile on her face that was almost devilish.

>>>>>>>>>>>>

Cordelia dropped him off where the main group was and had several messages she had to deliver before she came back, so David was left trying to listen to Chrom and Maribelle lay out a plan that he’d heard several times before as his brain tried to go over or forget the events that had happened in the stable a few moments earlier.

Oh, sure he’d been angry that about her word choice, but she had apologized and was about to say something when the horn sounded.

He never wanted to hear that damn horn again after this, he thought as he clenched his hands on his knees.

“David? DAVID!” Chrom called him, and he looked up, a very amused Vaike on his right and a concerned Miriel on his left.

“Yes, sir!” He snapped to attention.

“I said that you and Cordelia could help Vaike and Miriel handle the left flank, and you just zoned out again!” Chrom snapped.

David winced.

“Yes, we can and sorry. Sir.” David said before looking back towards Vaike, who turned to Lon’qu and chuckled.

“I think someone’s having girl problems” he said quietly, but not quietly enough, in a voice that made David want to punch him, which he would have done, but Lon’qu shot Vaike a dirty look, as he did not like being disturbed while listening to Chrom’s directions with rapt attention.

David didn’t bother to stay in the tent after that, moving back outside to wait for Cordelia to come back, jamming his hands into his pockets as he waited to keep them warm. 

He saw her pegasus touch down a few feet away from him, and casually walked up to her- or tried to, but he tripped on a rock.

This time, she caught him, her hands breaking his fall on his chestplate. She was so close, he could go out and touch her hair but he didn’t, instead stumbling backward out of her grasp.

“Thanks.” He told her, and got on her pegasus without a word. The ride was going to take awhile and he wasn’t looking forward to it, especially with how close it had them be together. His heart thumped uncomfortably under his chest plate, and he just wanted this battle to be over. 

Despite his heart screaming at the prospect of doing it, he managed to put his arms around her waist before they took off without any more complaints from his body. As they sailed over the battlefield, David realized that being up here was calming him down alot. Clouds blocked their view, and they were separated from the rest of the world for a minute, the chaos of the fighting below them forgotten.

It would take them awhile to get to their destination, and the uncomfortable silence between them was broken only by the flapping of her pegasus’ wings and the wind around them. The silence made him clench his jaw, before he decided the silence would kill him if he didn’t say anything.

“Are we good?” He asked her, shattering the silence with the sound of his voice.

He felt her stiffen, and she went silent for a long time. He was beginning to think she was ignoring him, before he finally got an answer.

“Are we?” She asked him quietly.

“I just meant that you’ve been acting distant towards me and I just want to make sure I haven’t offended you in anyway.” He told her truthfully. He swallowed his pride, and the sudden lump in his throat, before adding,

“I’d still like to be friends after the war is all.”

“I’m sorry, David. I shouldn’t have avoided you so suddenly like that. I’d like to be friends after the war as well.” She told him, and he ignored his heart twisting painfully again.

“So, we’re good?” He repeated, just to make sure.

“Yes.” She answered, and he felt a bit of a weight lift off his chest.

For the first time in days, he was able to concentrate on the task at hand, even though it wasn’t fully what he had wanted to say. However, it was a start.

“Great. Now, where exactly are we getting off?” He asked her as they started descending down past the clouds. The battlefield was a mess, as predicted, and his eyes scanned over it, looking for a safe space for her to land.

“How about down by that Forest? It’d save you time and protects you from the archers around Vaike and Miriel.” 

She nodded to show she’d heard and they landed in the forest he’d pointed out. As soon as he jumped off the pegasus and gave it a thank you pat for getting him- and mostly her- to their destination safely, he turned back up toward her.

“Hey, Cordy, do me a favor and stay safe, alright?” He asked her.

She smiled at him for the first time in awhile, and it was so infectious he smiled back, before turning back to the battlefield and running out.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The only good thing about fighting was that it took his mind off of everything going on at camp. As he and Vaike cleared out the last bit of Plegian soldiers on their assigned part of the battlefield, he put his sword down.

“You payin’ attention now?” Vaike teased.

“You’re welcome. If it wasn’t for me, you’d be that guys skewer.” David pointed.

“Gotta say, I liked quiet David better.” Vaike pouted.

David ignored him, and looked around the battlefield for anyone who needed help. Frederick was fighting with Lissa, and doing a great job keeping up with that group to make sure Lissa didn’t get touched.

Every group was the same, except… David froze.

“Where is Chrom supposed to be?” He snapped at Vaike.

“Towards the front. He said he wanted to take on Gangrel himself.”

“You two can take out the stragglers, right?”

“Hell yeah I can!” Vaike told him, and David ran back into the Forest that they’d been driving the Archers into.

Cordelia had dispatched them cleanly, and no arrows were anywhere near her pegasus. She was cleaning off her lance when she heard him approach, turning around suddenly with it raised.

“Don’t scare me like that!” She snapped at him.

“Cordelia, I need you to take me to Chrom.” 

She stared at him.

“You’ve done enough fighting, David. You need to believe that he’s going to be okay.” She stonewalled him.

“Cordelia, please. I think he’s in danger. He’s not in his assigned part of the battlefield, and I really do not want to lose two Exalts in a month.” David told her.

She hesitated, then got on her pegasus. 

“Thank you.” He told her. She didn’t respond, before they flew to the middle of the battlefield.

To his horror, he was absolutely correct in assuming Chrom was in danger, and there were too many archers for her to land in a safe spot in such an open plain.

He was about to ask her to drop him off a safe distance away when he heard an arrow graze by his ear, and yelped when he saw it fly to the ground.

“Cordelia! Archer!” He yelled.

“I see him!” She answered, flying lower to the ground, under a very tall bush, only to see that there were many archers around them. The enemy archers hadn’t seen them yet, but they would eventually.

“Shit!” David lamented quietly, then saw that they were only three feet above the ground. It was a short drop, and there was no way he was going to get her killed for his stupidity. He let his hands drop from her waist as he thought about the jump he was about to attempt.

“David, what are you doING?” She hissed at him.

“Clearing you a path!” He told her, and was just about to jump when she held his arm.

“It’s suicide!” She told him. He bit his lip.

“You need to let me go and warn the others. If we get everyone here to the middle, we can probably save Chrom.” He told her quietly.

“What about you?” She asked him.

“My life isn’t worth Chroms. I’d gladly trade it for him and the others, if it comes down to that.” He told her sincerely.

“David, this is madness! There are people who care about you down there!” Cordelia told him, and he laughed weakly.

“I’m sure that Vaike and Sumia would miss me. That’s all I can really think of at the moment right now.” He told her.

“I would miss you too, that’s why I’m not allowing you to go down there.”

He stared at her this time.

“I’m not sure I understand…?” He trailed off.

“David, the reason I was ignoring you all that time was because I realized I was in love with you.” She told him sincerely. He almost fell off the pegasus out of shock.

“I love you too, Cordy.” He said finally, before putting his hands on her cheek. He pressed his lips to hers, which caused her to loosen the grip on his arm .

“But, you need to let me go.” He smiled, and jumped off the pegasus, into the fray of archers.

She stared at the spot he disappeared in for a very long time before realizing that the archers were still surrounding her, and turned her pegasus around to mobilize the troops, despite her heart screaming at her to go after him.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“Sumia, he kissed me before he jumped off.” She finished after she had gathered everyone else, who were mobilizing to flank the battalion.

Gaius was on the back of her pegasus, and nearly fell off as Sumia jerked forward.

“I’m going to kill him!” She squeaked, and if Cordelia hadn’t been so distraught, the look on Gaius’s face would have made her laugh.

“What an idiot. I”ll help. If he’s not dead already.” Gaius interjected, shaking his head. 

“Gaius! Be nice!” Sumia told him, swatting him on his hand.

“Ouch. Sorry, Red.” Gaius recoiled.

They flew back to the spot where he’d jumped. She didn’t see his body, but a bunch of dead archers. That was a good sign, but it still made her stomach clench painfully, and she recalled his lips on hers.

“Sumia, you may not get to kill him.” She told her carefully.

“Why not?”

“Because I’m going to do it myself.” She answered her, and she heard Gaius chuckle behind her.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

David was currently in the middle of the biggest lecture of his life by both Chrom and Maribelle. He couldn’t exactly walk away from them, either, because a horse had stepped on his right ankle and it was burning, so he was just sitting there, as both of his ears were being assaulted by two different people.

“You could have been a walking pincushion!” Maribelle yelled.

“I agree, that was the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen you do!”

“You’re welcome for getting you help.” He answered them.

“You keep it up with that attitude, and I’ll make sure that Lissa heals that ankle.” Maribelle threatened, and David shrugged.

“I’m not apologizing for helping you two.” He told them simply, and Chrom was about to say something else when they heard flapping of wings.

It was then that David realized he’d made a mistake. He had nowhere to go so he grabbed his sword, for whatever good it would do him.

Sumia landed first, Gaius quickly getting off the pegasus and smartly stepping out of the way.

“YOU!” She pointed to him.

Chrom stared at her.

“Sumia, is everything o…” He didn’t get to finish his sentence as Sumia walked past him.

“You don’t go running into the fray like that again! What happened to your ankle?” She demanded.

“Horse.” David answered, trying to hold back a smile.

“A horse has better manners than you! A horse doesn’t kiss and leave!”

“What.” Chrom blinked, and looked at Maribelle, who looked just as lost as he did.

“You nearly made Cordelia cry!”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose! I was trying to save them!” David answered, gesturing to Chrom and Maribelle. 

“Still! Don’t do something like that again!” She finished, and stomped away from him.

Just as he thought that Cordelia hated him for good, he heard another pair of wings, and this time he knew who it was. He had nowhere to run, so resigned himself to his fate, and put the sword across his lap, silently writing his last will and testament in his head.

Chrom and Maribelle had left confused and hurriedly to attend to other duties, so he was left on the floor alone.

She landed.

He forced himself to look up, and she was closing on him rapidly. The look in her eyes was absolutely murderous.

Finally he remembered that he had kissed her quickly before jumping off her pegasus.

He blushed, and then she was standing over him.

“Hi.” He said quietly.

He was tired, sore and couldn’t walk, and he couldn’t care less at the moment.

“That’s really all you have to say after that stunt you pulled?” She asked him.

“I’m sorry?” He asked. He wasn’t sure what to say after it.

She shoved him.

“That’s for scaring me.” She told him. 

He was staring at her now, unable to speak as his heart was hammering in his chest.

“No smart remark?” She asked him.

“No. I’m just glad you’re okay.” He told her. 

“I’m glad now you care about my well being.” She told him, and he laughed.

“I’ve always cared, honestly.”

She rolled her eyes at him before shoving him again, less hard this time.

“That’s still for scaring me.” She told him, and before he could complain, she kissed him this time, and all the snarky remarks he had for her died on his lips. 

“That,” She said, trying to regain her breath properly, 

“Is for not kissing me properly.”

He smiled.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He laughed, then leaned in to kiss her again.

From the Forest, Vaike stared open mouthed at them, then grinned.

“Miri, do you know what this means? Chrom owes me money!” He whooped, then ran out the clearing hollering.

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as an idea of how David and Cordelia's relationship began, which I began working on immediately after I posted my first fic with them, then got bigger and bigger until I had ended up finishing it in 5 days, oops. I hope they're not terribly OOC, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!


End file.
